Apparatus for extracting oil, fats, and waxes, and for conditioning maize and other grain



. J. NIELD APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING OILII FATS, AND WAXBS, AND FORCONDITIONING MAIZE AND-OTHER GRAIN Filed May 1, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet l m3 4 -l m M S *Q'D [E ,I H

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 1, 1924 mew J Ni 8/ ZJ Patents July 8, 1924.

JOSEPH NIELD, OF SALISBURY, SOUTH RHODESIA, SOUTH AFRICA.

APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING OIL, FATS, AND WAXES, AND FOR CONDITIONINGMAIZE AND OTHER- G-RAIN.

Application'filed May 1, 1924. Serial No. 710,464.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH NIELD, a-

British subject, and residing at Salisbury, in the Territory of SouthRhodesia, South Africa, have invented a certain new and useful apparatusfor Extracting Oil, Fats, and Waxes and for Conditioning Maize and OtherGrain, of which-the following is a Specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for extracting oil, fats and waxesand for conditioning maize and other grain.

More particularly, it concerns a treatment for the continuous extractionof oil, fats and waxes by a solvent, and for the recovery of thesolvent, the same treatment being also applicable for use in theconditioning of maize and other grain.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings which represent by way ofexample oneform of construction according to the present invention: 1

F igure 1 is a general sectional elevation of the whole apparatus. i t

Figure 2 is a transverse section taken on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is detail of Figure 1 drawn to an enlarged scale.

Figure 4 is a plan view of Figure 3, and

Figure 5 is an end view of the lower half of Figure 4 drawn on anenlarged scale.

In carrying the invention into effect, a is an inclined cylinder carriedupon suitable girder supports 6. Arranged longitudinally within thecylinder a is a worm conveyor 0 carried by a central longitudinal shaftd, which may for the purposes of the present invention assume the formof a gteam pipe to heat the contents of the cylin- Mounted upon thecylinder towards the lower end is a hopper e into which are fed thefatty or oleaginous materials thatare to be treated, or the maize orother grain which is to be conditioned. The hopper e is preferablyfitted with a mechanical feeder f as shown. The shaft 03 at its upperend after passing through the usual packing gland in the cover plate ofthe casing a, is fitted with a worm wheel 9 which is driven by a worm gbut any other suitable drive may be use The conveyor is so rotated as tocause the material fed to it by the hopper e to travel up the cylinder,so, that it moves in counter-current to a suitable solvent fordissolving the fatty material which solvent is admitted to thecylinderat h. The solvent which becomes richer and richer as it flows along downthe cylinder, is finally discharged therefrom at the outlet 2', at thelowermost end of the cylinder, whence it passes away to a still or otherseparator.

When the material under treatment has reached the upper end of thecylinder a, it is discharged into a down-take k on its way to a steamerin which the solvent is recovered.

The down-take k by means of a mechanical tionary fit one into the otherand are separated by a packing gland 1". The material accumulates withinthe down-take 7c and forms a seal to prevent any backflow of vapour intothe cylinder a.

The trunnion-like casing 0 is supported by a fixed bearing 8 and asimilar trunnion support 0 is provided at the other end of the steamer gwhich is en ported by a corresponding bearing 8 T e steamer g is ahollow cylindrical chamber that carries on its internal surface a seriesof helical ribs or strakes t for the purpose of keeping the material inmovement through the chamber which is delivered thereinto by the wormconveyor Z. In order that the chamber q may be kept in a heatedcondition, there is arranged within the hollow shaft m a steam ipe Mwhich extends into the steamer and 1nto a distributing box a from whichsteam pipe branches u are led which extend through the whole length of.the chamber. Four such branches are preferably used as shown in Figure2' and each branch is preferably left with an open end. In order thatthe passage of steam passing through the branches may be controlled,each branch ncludes a valve a which is adapted to be 1m termittentlyopened and closed by suitable means such, for instance, as a cam plate oso 'arranged on the fixed bearing 8 as to engage and actuate the stems vof the valves '0 during rotation of'the steamer drum The arrangement forrotating the 0 amber 9 comprises adriving pulley w carried on the outerend of the hollow shaft m, said hollow shaft serving to drive the wormconveyor Z and being suitably connected through a spider frame w to theend cover plate of the chamber.

It will be understood that the cylinder and the steam pipe branches 11,and the valves 1) all rotate together and each valve is so constructedthat as it passes the cam '0 it is momentarily opened to pass a chargeof steam; thus the material mixed with the solvent Within the chamber 9is kept in a heated condition and is fed progressively forward throughthe chamber where at its other end it is discharged. To further heat thechamber g an extra steam branch it forms preferably a closed circuitwithin the chamber as shown, which serves primarily for heating thechamber, while the branches 2& serve not only for heating the chamberbut. also for maintaining in the interior of the chamber a humidatmosphere. As the material under treatment reaches the other. end ofthe steamer it is withdrawn therefrom through the hollow trunnion 0 bymeans of a drag conveyor carried upon a shaft :10. The shaft 90 isarranged longitudinally within not only the hollow trunnion 0 but withinan extension y from a double-armed branch discharge a. One arm 3 of suchdischarge serves for carrying 05 the vaporized solvent while the otherbranch 4 carrles away the spent material under the control of amechanical dischar er 5. The shaft :12 is supported at one end y aspider frame 6 while the other end passes through a packing gland in thewall of the doublearmed discharge 2 and any suitable means may beemployed to constantly reciprocate the shaft :10 backwards and forwards.

As shown more clearly in Figures 3 to 5, the dra conveyor comprises aseries of =hinged aps 7 which depend from the under surface of a plate 8which forms an intermediate portion extending between two shaft portions03 or which may be hung from a single shaft 00, the hinged flaps beingso ar-. ranged that when the rod ispushed to the right the flaps yield,as shown in Figure 1, so as to pass over the material which may at themoment be within the hollow trunnion 0 Un the return stroke, however,the flaps are prevented from yielding by their short bent ends 9 and arethus enabled to dra the material forward over a distance equal to thelength of the stroke. The spent'ma- I terial thus gradually passesthrough the trunnion 0 and when it reaches the branch it will bedischarged thereinto, this being assisted by a guide plate 10 that maybe mo em used which will prevent any accumulation against the end wallof the connection 2 that might result in a temporary jamming of theconveyor. The upper part of the trunnion is free so as to permit of theescape of the vaporized solvent which is finally allowed to escape at 3to any suitable container or condenser from whence it maybe used overagain. The mechanical discharge 5 is driven at such a speed as willmaintain an accumulation of spent material above it that will act as aseal to prevent any solvent vapour escaping in this direction.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the plant comprisesapparatus whereby oils and fats may be continuously extracted from thematerial under treatment and at the same time the material is afterwardssubjected to a steam treatment so that the solvent may be separatedtherefrom and recovered, this alsobeing in continual operation.

When it is desired to employ this apparatus for the conditioning ofmaize and other grain, the maize is fed in by means of a hopper e tomeet a current of warm water which is fed into the cylinder a at h;after the grain has thus been steeped it passes through the downtake andinto the steamer for further conditioning treatment and is finallydischarged. If desired, however, such steaming treatment may be omitted.

7 Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. An apparatus for the continuousextraction of oils, fats, waxes and the like from materials containingthe same and the simultaneous recovery of solvent from the treatedmaterial, comprising an inclined extraction cylinder, means for feedingmaterial to be treated thereto, a screw conveyor having a hollow shaftwithin said cylinder for conveying material upwardly through thecylinder, means permitting the introduction'of solvent at the upper endof said cylinder whereby the solvent is caused to travel in acounter-current to and in contact with the material under treatment, arotary heated solvent recovery cylinder in communication with theextraction cylinder, said recovery cylinder having a hollow trunnion ateach end, means for feedin the material into one end of said cylinderthrough one of the hollow trunnions as well as afi'ording access for aheating medium thereto, discharging means at the other end of saidcylinder in the other trunnion and means for separately dischargingspent material and solvent therefrom.

2. An apparatus for the continuous extraction of oils, fats, waxes andthe like from materials containing the same and the simultaneousrecovery of solvent from the treated material, comprising an inclinedextraction mo es? treated thereto, a screw conveyor having a hollowshaft within said cylinder for conveying material upwardly through thecylinder, means permitting the introduction of solvent at the upper endof said cylinder whereby the solvent is caused to travel in acounter-current to and in contact with the material under treatment, arotary heated solvent recovery cylinder in communciation with theextraction cylinder, said recovery cylinder having a hollow trunnion ateach end, means for feeding the material into one end of said cylinderthrough one of the hollow trunnions as well as afiording access for aheating medium thereto, a drag conveyor in the trunnion at the other endof the said cylinder and means for separately discharging spent materialand solvent therefrom.

3. An apparatus for the continuous extraction of oils, fats, waxes andthe like from materials containing the same and the simultaneousrecovery of solvent from the treated material, comprising an inclinedextraction cylinder, means for feeding material to be treated thereto, ascrew conveyor having a hollow shaft within said cylinder for conveyingmaterial upwardly through the cylinder, means permitting theintroduction of solvent at the upper end of said cylinder whereby thesolvent is caused to travel in a counter-current to and in contact withthe material under treatment, a rotary heated solvent recovery cylinderin communication with the extraction cylinder, sealing means interposedbetween the extraction cylinder and the solvent recovery cylinder, saidrecovery cylinder having a hollow trunnion at each end, means forfeeding the material into one end of said cylinder through one of thehollow trunnions as well as aflording access for a heating mediumthereto, a drag conveyor in the trunnion at the other end for drawingmaterial from said cylinder providing a free passage for the recoveredsolvent, means for discharging solvent and means for discharging spentmaterials from the recovery cylinder, the latter means constituting aseal whereby escape of solvent is prevented at the discharge opening forthe spent material, and a guide plate interposed between the dragconveyor and said seal.

in testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

- JOSEPH NIELD,

